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The policeman who had allegedly raped an minor in exchange for the release of her parents who were apprehended for being drug pushers had responded to the police chief by saying what he did was “nothing new” in the police force.

PO1 Edgardo Valencia’s response, aired on live television, was criticized on social media with many saying that these are indicative of the abuses being committed by members of the Philippine National Police amid President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs.

Valencia denied the allegations at first. But then he attempted to justify it to Police Chief Guillermo Eleazar that such act was normal in law enforcement when dealing with those involved in illegal narcotics.

Based on reports, the victim’s mother claimed that when she and her partner was apprehended in the drug sting, Valencia and other law enforcers also took their daughter even if there are no charges against her.

Valencia and the other police officers then forced the girl to drink liquor while inside the police station.

Valencia later compelled the teenager to have sex with him to clear her parents’ names.

He initially offered her a ride home, but rather, took her to a hotel in Sta. Mesa where the supposed sexual abuse happened.

Scalawags in the police force

The PNP had since admitted that there are police men who are involved in illegal activities within the institution since the start of President Rodrigo Duterte’s illegal narcotics campaign.

Since last year, it had been conducting an “internal cleansing” to rid the country’s police force of rogue policemen or “scalawags.”

In January 2017, Ronaldo “Bato” Dela Rosa, then PNP chief, had temporarily suspended the drug operations or “Operasyon Tokhang” to prioritize a directive from Duterte to clean up their ranks. The anti-drug program returned last November.

Last February, there were 398 police personnel dismissed from the service, based on data from the PNP Directorate for Personnel and Records Management.

These dismissed members were among the 1,614 more with meted penalties for administrative offenses covering 2016 to 2018.

Last July, a total of 1,176 so-called police involved in illegal drug trade are being monitored by PNP’s Counter Intelligence Task Force.

With these numbers and reported incidents of police abuse, the PNP Internal Affairs Service decided to have another investigation or “lifestyle check” within the ranks.

IAS Inspector General Alfegar Triambulo said the PNP is doing everything it can to wipe out these police officers,

“Our approach now is holistic. We have preventive, punitive and restorative, especially those who could still be rehabilitated,” he said.